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Friday, May 13, 2011

Holland Creek and Heart Lake

I opted to go somewhere new on Tuesday May 3rd, traveling south to Ladysmith. It was really only about a 15 minute drive from my place so not far to go at all. I parked near the Dogwood Parking lot and looked for brochures which I had heard were awesome, but there were none today. I headed off not really knowing where I was going.

Hike started out very peaceful

Holland Creek

It wasn't long before I realized I had taken off on a "difficult trail" and difficult is right as my heart was pumping in no time as the hills started to take me way above the creek in which I started beside.

Going Up?

More Ups!

Creek is somewhere down there

It went back down slightly so I got closer again

Waterfall along the way

Top of the waterfall

I came to the top end of Holland Creek and saw a sign to get to Heart Lake. I met a lady there, who said it was really easy to find and well marked. A quick look at the time to see how far I had gone and then I decided to head off and investigate. I had no idea how long it was going to take me to get to Heart Lake, but I figured I would head that way and turn around if necessary. After walking on some back roads for a bit, I found the map at the base of the Heart Lake Trail.

Of course I opted to take the short difficult trail to the lake!

Start of the trail

Off I went on a hike straight up the mountain side to the lake. I am not kidding when I say straight up. It was straight up with lots of switchbacks. My heart was pounding and I felt so out of shape!

I hit the 45 minute mark and debated turning around as I only wanted to do a 90 minute hike. But the stubbornness in me knew that the lake couldn't be THAT far away, so I kept on going. I reached the lake after 55 minutes of hiking.

Of course I stopped and took some photos. I saw the trail went around the lake, but didn't have time to do that, so after some photos I headed back down the way I came.

On the way down I stopped at the rock bluff look out. There was a good view looking over Ladysmith towards Georgia Straight. Technically Ladysmith is at the 49th parallel, so looking out over the water would be around the Canada/USA border.

On the way down the trail is when disaster hit. I went down the difficult trail as I had no idea how long taking the easy trail would be. I only knew it took me 55 minutes from Dogwood Road to Heart Lake via difficult trails. Going down the difficult trail not far from the lookout, I was slipping and sliding my way down. I stepped off a little ledge and the next thing I knew, I rolled over on my right ankle.

I instantly felt pain and sat down, swore and felt like crying. Then I decided I had no choice but to keep going. How else was I going to get down the mountain? The idea of being rescued wasn't an option for me. I hobbled my way down the rest of the way back towards Holland Creek. I had a bit of a limp at first, but then it turned out not too bad and the more I walked, the better it felt.

A sprained ankle didn't stop me from taking more photos!

I took the easier trail back from the top end of Holland Creek. That kept me fairly level with the creek.

What is a hike without this nice aroma!

I got back to my car after 1 hour 50 minutes of hiking and as soon as I started to drive I felt the pain again. My foot did NOT like the position needed to switch from brake and gas. I got home as quick as possible, put some ice on my ankle along with elevation. Of course I had to take a photo to compare the swelling. Just a little swelling, but luckily no discolouration. Hard to see, but the right is a bit bigger than the left (sorry its a photo from my phone).

Unfortunately I couldn't ice and elevate it for long as I had to go to work that evening. I wrapped it in a tensor and hobbled around work. Thankfully I had the following 2 days off, so I went and saw Joe at Island Optimal for some ART in which he then put some fancy Kineseo tape to get rid of the swelling. At least the pink matches my pink Saucony Kinvara's!